The Butterfly
by CellophaneCatastrophy
Summary: A simple gift from one girl to another leads to what will be a long tradition.


The little girl gazed at the clear box in wonder. Among the leaves and sticks in the box was a simple Small White butterfly, resting on a stick and slowly flapping its wings, but to Cheryl, it was amazing.

"It's so pretty!", Cheryl whispered, eyes wide as she glanced up from the box to the bug's captor. Lillian smiled widely, happy that she had brought such honest joy to the girl.

"Well, I'm glad you think so. I searched high and wide, all over the mountain for it!" Lillian told her. Well, not really. She had spotted the bug while gathering some fresh mint to sell. She knew that the young girl didn't get to leave the village much, and that she adored this type of bug, so she had made it her mission to catch it. Thankfully, it took only a few minutes, and a couple close calls with the hand fishing pond, to capture it.

"Really? You caught it for me?" Cheryl asked, surprised. She was so sure the farmer girl disliked her, maybe even hated her, after all the attempts she had made to separate Lillian and her brother Ash.

"Really," Lillian replied and smiled.

"Yay! So I get to keep it for ever and ever?! Oh, I'm so excited! I get to see a butterfly every day now!" Cheryl shouted. She grabbed the box carefully, and rushed to her room. Lillian followed with a small frown on her face. Oh, how she had hoped Cheryl wouldn't say that, that Cheryl had maybe done a little research on the delicate bugs. She walked over to where Cheryl had set the bug on her nightstand, right next to her bed, and knelt next to her.

"Cheryl, you know you can't keep it, right?" Lillian asked, bracing for a harsh reaction.

Cheryl looked up at the farmer with a frown. "Why not? You caught it for me, right? And, you just gave it to me. So, it's mine now, and you can't take it or say what I can or can't do with it!"

Lillian tried to smile at the girl. "Cheryl, you love your brother, right?"

"Right!" Cheryl chirped.

"So, if I tried to take him away, you'd be very upset, right?" Lillian asked.

"Yes! You're not gonna, right?" Cheryl questioned the girl, peering at her with a raised eyebrow and frowned.

"No, I would never do that. But, that's kind of what you're trying to do to that butterfly's family." Lillian reassured the girl. Cheryl looked at Lillian with wide eyes, then quickly back to the butterfly. She grabbed the box again, and ran out of the house. Lillian stood up and rushed after her, calling out her name and followed girl to the edge of town. Cheryl shot out of the gates, and started up the mountain, but then stopped and fell to her knees. Lillian sprinted faster, hoping that she hadn't just hurt herself.

Lillian reached Cheryl just as the girl opened the box, allowing the bug to spring free. It flapped in front of them for a moment, then they froze as it came to rest on Cheryl's shoulder for a few seconds. Then, it lifted off again, and flew away. The two girls watched as the butterfly flew up the mountain, and then Lillian turned to Cheryl.

"You know, I think it was saying that it liked visiting," Lillian remarked, looking back up the path up hill.

"You think so?" Cheryl asked, already sad to have seen the butterfly go.

"Yeah. So, I have a plan Cheryl," Lillian said as she turned to fully face the now standing Cheryl.

Cheryl peered up at Lillian, "What plan do you got?"

Lillian smiled at her. "Almost every day, I go up and over the mountain to visit you guys. So, every day, I'll find you a butterfly. But, so they don't miss their family too much, we'll come up here at the end of the day and let it go back to its family. Sound good?"

"Yeah! See you tomorrow Lillian!" Cheryl shouted as she ran back home, already excited for the next day to hurry and up and get there! Lillian laughed and turned back to the mountain, ready to start her long trek home.

* * *

A/N: I was just playing the game, and I started thinking about how I always give a butterfly, usually a small white, to Cheryl. This is my possible explanation. Have a good day, and thanks for reading!


End file.
